


The Songs of All Beasts

by LourdesDeath



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Hogwarts, Wild Magic (Tamora Pierce)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-20 06:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9479063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LourdesDeath/pseuds/LourdesDeath
Summary: It’s clear to anyone who meets him that Newt has a knack with animals— after all, he behaves like he can understand what they're saying to him. But he isn’t pretending or imagining things when he hears them talking back, he really can understand what the animals around him say, regardless of whether or not anyone else believes it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I spent the entirety of my time watching Fantastic Beasts thinking 'well, Newt CLEARLY has wild magic. There's no other explanation here.' This fic is the result. 
> 
> Title comes from the dedication in Tamora Pierce's 'Wild Magic'.

It all started with an owl.

Theseus had been allowed to name it, and had, with all the wisdom of any five year old, decided to call it Earl Grey.

Newt had few memories of his early years with the bird, but would always remember the stories of how Earl Grey seemed to like him from the beginning. He could practically remember one story, with how often his parents and brother brought it up: the time he sat near Earl Grey’s cage and they seemed to hold a conversation, Newt babbling and Earl Grey responding with hoots every time he paused.

Back then, it hadn’t been a concern.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn’t that he didn’t like the other children. Everyone always thought it was that he didn’t like them, but they were wrong.

He wanted to play with them. He _did_. But he could hear someone calling for help, and he didn’t like not helping.

He could hear Theseus calling for him as he walked past the line of trees and into the woods, but didn’t listen to his brother. Theseus could just follows the voice too, if he wanted to find Newt.

“Where are you?” he asked.

_Behind you!_ the voice replied. _I’m in a trap!_

Newt turned around and could hear a scratching noise behind one of the trees.

A badger was there. One of its hind feet was pulled almost straight up in the air by a rope tied to a tree. It growled at him as he came closer.

“It’s alright,” Newt said, trying to talk the way his mother did when he was upset. “I want to help.”

_It hurts_ , the badger replied, pulling on the rope and whining when its foot was twisted by the rope.

“I’m going to come closer,” Newt said to the badger, moving slowly so it wouldn’t think he wanted to hurt it.

The badger was shuddering, but didn’t growl when he stepped close enough to touch the rope. It was wrapped around the badger’s leg, a firmly tied knot keeping it in place.

“I don’t know if I can untie this,” Newt said. “If I can’t, I’ll try to find something to cut it.”

He tried to not get scared when he touched the rope and the badger growled at him, but he knew it was only because the badger was hurt.

Newt was about to start looking for a rock sharp enough for cutting the rope when he heard Theseus calling for him again.

The badger backed into him as Theseus’s voice became louder, and Newt placed one calming hand on the badger’s side.

“Newt! You know you aren’t supposed to go running off on your own!” Theseus shouted.

“He needs our help!” Newt responded, still holding the badger gently.

Theseus came around the tree and froze. “Newt, let go of it,” he said in that way he always spoke when he wanted Newt to do as he said. “You’re going to get hurt.”

“He won’t hurt me. He needs help!”

“You don’t know that, Newt. Now, come with me.”

“You won’t hurt me, will you?” Newt asked the badger.

_I’ll try not to,_ the badger replied.

“See? He won’t hurt me!”

Newt could see Theseus trying not to pout—he was trying to seem grown up now that he was going to Hogwarts—but his lips certainly had a downward turn.

“You have your pocket knife, don’t you?” Newt asked. “Father told you to carry it all the time.”

Theseus was definitely pouting now, but he pulled the knife from his pocket and started walking towards the badger.

Newt fell onto his backside with the force of the badger trying to get away from his brother.

“It’s alright,” he said, trying to calm it down.

_I don’t want him coming near me with that knife!_ the badger said, bearing its teeth. _Why can’t you do it?_

Newt was too young to use knives, but he couldn’t think of any other way to help.

“He’s worried you’ll hurt him,” he said to Theseus. “He wants me to do it.”

“I promised Mother I wouldn’t let you touch it.”

“Please, Theseus. I’ll be careful.”

“Once it’s free, we’re going back to the others,” Theseus said. “And we won’t tell Mother or Father about any of this.”

Newt nodded and held his hand out for the knife.

Theseus stood well away from him and watched as Newt slipped the knife between the badger’s foot and the rope. He sawed through the rough fibers, smelling the musk of the badger’s fur with how close his face was to it.

When the rope finally broke apart, the badger laid gingerly on the ground and started to lick at its leg.

“Are you alright?” Newt asked.

_Yes, thank you. I thought I’d never get free._ It nuzzled his hand a little. _I think you’d best leave now. Kits shouldn’t be far from their parents for long._

Newt was surprised Theseus didn’t agree with the badger, but his lips were pursed the way their mother’s always went when she was displeased, so he stood up and returned the knife.

He gave one final smile to the badger before they walked through the woods.

Both of them kept their promise and didn’t tell their parents about the adventure, but neither of them ever forgot it, either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, the badger in this chapter is NOT a god! How dare you even SUGGEST the Badger god would get trapped like this and have to rely on children to save him!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does have some [suggested listening.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ)

Theseus was wearing his ‘I’m trying not to pout’ expression again, but Newt could see the cracks in his pursed lips that meant he was enjoying himself, as well.

Newt held Demophon, Theseus’s gigantic grey cat, on his lap.

_He really does like your idea,_ Demophon said, purring as Newt scratched his head. _He just doesn’t want to admit it._

“I know,” Newt said, grinning.

“I wish you two wouldn’t talk about me like I’m not here,” Theseus grumbled. “Just because I can only hear half the conversation doesn’t give you an excuse to do it.”

Demophon meowed at him, and even Theseus couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Newt let the vibrations of Demophon’s purring calm him a little as the carriage rumbled towards the train: it would only make things harder if he was visibly nervous.

The carriage came to a jerking halt, and Theseus grabbed the door handle.

“Ready?” he asked, quiet enough that no one would be able to hear him.

_Yes,_ Demophon replied.

Newt nodded for himself and the cat.

Theseus took a breath and let the door swing open.

Demophon leapt from Newt’s lap and flew from the carriage.

Both of them ran out of the carriage, pretending to chase after the large, brown and black blur as Demophon ran under the stopped carriages and between the legs of several students.

Theseus waved his wand in the air threateningly as he shouted at the cat, but Newt (and, more importantly, Demophon) knew he wouldn’t use any magic.

Newt tried not to giggle as Demophon hopped onto a carriage and started licking himself, but felt his foot catch on something and found himself with a face full of grass.

“I’m so sorry,” he began as he got to his feet, but as he turned, he found nothing but the empty space in front of a carriage.

_The child cannot see,_ a voice said. It was like a breeze through a graveyard: breathy but ominous.

He looked around for whoever had spoken, but was pulled from his thoughts by Demophon running past him, Theseus close behind.

That was the sign for him to board the train, so Newt forced himself to forget the mysterious voice and continue with the plan.

He climbed up the steps onto the train, pretending to nurse his knees from the fall, and found an empty car.

Newt opened the window and stepped back just in time for Demophon to leap into the car.

“Demophon!” Theseus shouted outside the car. “I swear I will turn you into slippers!”

_I hope that was satisfactory,_ Demophon purred.

“It was,” Newt replied, grinning. “And now onto step two.”

When everything had died down outside his train car, Newt stood back up and looked out the window.

There were still a few students milling about, so he couldn’t do anything yet.

Theseus joined him in the car just as the last student boarded the train.

“Everything ready?” he asked, brushing some leaves out of his hair.

Nodding, Newt looked out the train car again. When he was sure no one could see what he was doing, he spoke, just loud enough for himself to be heard by anyone listening.

“It’s alright now,” he called. “You can come down.”

He could hear scratching on the roof of the train car, then saw a head poke over the side.

“Hello, Bertie!” he said to the hippogriff hatchling. “We’re ready for you to join us now.”

Bertie squawked, his head turned to the side, and walked gingerly to the edge of the train.

“Carefully, now,” Newt said, “Don’t fall off.”

Bertie hesitated for a moment and perched above him before he jumped off, his wings flapping frantically.

His landing was… almost graceful, although his legs collapsed a little beneath him as they hit the ground

“Well done!” Newt said. “Now, hop in!”

Bertie hooked his claws onto the windowsill and tried to jump in, but his hind legs weren’t strong enough to get him through the window.

“I’m going to help you, alright?”

Bertie wasn’t old enough to talk to Newt yet, but Newt could feel trust coming from him, so he got his arms under Bertie’s forelegs and started pulling him through the window. He could hear Bertie’s hooves scratching against the side of the train, but even with his feet braced against the wall of the train car, he couldn’t quite get Bertie in.

He felt a presence behind him just before two strong arms came up under Newt’s own and hooked around Bertie.

“On my count,” Theseus said behind him. “One, two, three!”

They pulled together and Bertie’s body was lifted into the car. His legs were momentarily stuck, but he bent them in and topped onto the boys.

There was a _thump_ as they landed on the floor, Newt cushioned by his brother, their arms still around Bertie.

He heard Theseus breathing heavily and worried that he’d been hurt by the fall, but Theseus gulped in air and started laughing.

Newt grinned and started to check on Bertie. He didn’t see any scratches on the hippogriff’s legs or stomach, and Bertie didn’t shy away from his touches, so he was confident there wasn’t anything to worry about.

“We’re going to charm you now,” he said to Bertie, stroking his back. “It won’t hurt, but it’ll make it so no one can see you.”

Bertie was calm, but Newt kept a hand on him while Theseus flicked his wand. Newt had to force his eyes to land on the hippogriff, and even then he didn’t feel like he was looking at anything at all.

He stood up and took a seat on one of the benches, and felt something big climb up as well and settle its head on his lap.

Newt found that, if he kept his eyes closed, he could feel Bertie’s presence.

“We’ll be home soon, Bertie,” he said when he heard Theseus also sitting down and a satisfied rumbling from Demophon. “It won’t be long now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Demophon is a son of the mythical figure Theseus, so I felt it only right to name Theseus's cat that. x3
> 
> That being said, [this is how I imagined him.](http://www.cfagreatlakes.org/menu_winners/2012_2013_Grands/MAINE_DELITE_S_CHESTER_CP.JPG)


	4. Chapter 4

Their butler curled his lip disapprovingly when he saw the hippogriff.

“Oh, don’t look like that, Edmund,” Theseus chirped at him, far too cheerful for someone who’d had almost the same look on his face when he’d heard Newt’s plan.

“I do apologize for my face, sir,” Edmund replied.

They piled into the carriage, Edmund looking almost relieved when Theseus said they’d handle getting the hippogriff in on their own.

Newt was pretty sure Edmund charmed their luggage to be light enough to lift on his own, although he didn’t see him cast any spells.

Bertie was more nervous in the carriage than in the train car. It was a tight fit for the four of them, even with the spells in place to make it more spacious than the outside would have suggested, but he still shuffled around between the benches as Newt got settled.

“It’s alright,” Newt said, trying to calm him down a little. “We won’t be in here long.”

Bertie chirped at him, although Newt could tell he wasn’t comfortable.

Newt shifted onto the floor and patted the floor, inviting Bertie to lay down next to him. When Bertie was settled, Newt took a breath and imagined the noises he’d heard from hippogriff mothers.

The sound started out like a croak, but he took another breath and tried again. This time, the noise was more like a horse’s nicker, but with a sound in it like a birdsong.

Bertie nuzzled Newt’s chest and rolled halfway onto him, chirping a similar noise.

The ride was mostly uneventful after that. Demophon purred in Theseus’s lap as Theseus pet him, and Newt occasionally made the hippogriff sound to keep Bertie calm.

When they came to a halt, Newt could hear the familiar sounds of home, the chatter of animals in the woods nearby, Edmund’s shoes on the gravel drive in front of the house, and the creaking front doors.

Bertie tried to get up when the door opened, but Newt held him gently.

Theseus got out first, and Newt could hear him talking to Edmund as Demophon gave Bertie a quick nuzzle and hopped out as well.

More footsteps approached: Newt could hear his parents greeting Theseus and a scraping sound that he had a feeling was Demophon jumping into his father’s arms, judging by how Demophon starts purring and the feeling of contentment wafting off of him.

“Where’s Newt?” their mother asked.

“I know you’re going to be upset,” Theseus said. “I promise there’s a good reason.”

Bertie was becoming restless from the strange noises outside the carriage, and was on his feet and pulling away from Newt before he could do anything to stop the hippogriff.

Theseus was, thankfully, able to catch him before he fell down the step.

Newt stepped down after the hippogriff.

Bertie was standing near his mother, likely able to smell remnants of her herd of hippogriffs on her.

She had one gloved hand held out to him, but there was a wrinkle between her brows.

“I think your mother and I would both like to hear this _good reason_ ,” their father said, his voice was stern, but Newt could see how concerned he was.

“He was separated from his mother during a storm,” Newt told them. “I found him in the Forbidden Forest afterwards.”

“How can you possibly know that?” father replied, his brow furrowed.

Newt opened his mouth, unsure of how to respond.

“You know about his knack with animals,” Theseus said, his manner teasing. “He probably read its mind.”

Newt felt himself blushing because that was _exactly_ what had happened. He’d had nightmares for three days about storms and being lost. He’d gone for a walk near the Forbidden Forest and felt the same as he did in his nightmares, and found Bertie there, exhausted and terrified and alone.

His mother was introducing herself to Bertie. “Oh, Edward. I’m certain Newt was careful. We can’t abandon this little one.”

Their father didn’t look pleased, but he relented. “Very well. We’ll introduce him to the herd and see if he’s accepted.” He looked at Newt again, stern. “But you need to be careful, Newton. Hippogriffs aren’t pets, you could’ve been seriously harmed.”

Newt looked at the ground. He considered—and not for the first time—just telling his parents the truth about how he could talk to animals, but he was so scared that they wouldn’t believe him… or that they’d think he was crazy and send him away.

A broad hand touched his shoulder, and Newt looked up. His father’s dark eyes were not angry, but _concerned_. “I wouldn’t want something to happen to you, Newt. I know how much you love your animals, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to be careful.”

He smiled, which made Newt smile too.

“Now, let’s see how he gets along with the herd. I assume you’ve already given him a name?”

“I named him Bertie,” Newt said, following his parents around the side of the house.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bertram,” his father said as they walked. “My name is Edward Scamander, and this is my wife, Augusta.” He paused briefly to bow alongside his wife.

Bertie also bowed, albeit a little less gracefully than a mature hippogriff could’ve managed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I imagined Colin Firth (or, more accurately, Mr. Darcy) as the Scamander father and Miranda Otto as their mother. 
> 
> Their butler, Edmund, is kind enough not to pinch their socks.


End file.
